A Baker Street Gathering
by mryddinwilt
Summary: "Sherlock Holmes is happy. It's not the word he would use to describe his current emotional state but it is an accurate description." A one shot interpretation of the little party at the end of The Empty Hearse. A bit of Sherlolly.


Sherlock Holmes is happy. It's not the word he would use to describe his current emotional state but it is an accurate description. The last two years were difficult for the consulting detective; a time of isolation, privation, and danger. A time that, for the rest of his life, he will only vaguely reference. But the care of those 24 months have fallen away on this surprisingly sunny afternoon and Sherlock Holmes is smiling, relaxed, and happy. This warm ball of contentment has many sources. The rush of solving a case, the pleasure of being restored to his former life, and the mending of his friendship with John Watson are all factors but Sherlock hasn't and won't take the time to examine any of this. He does however recognize that his immediate pleasure is derived from the desperation in his brother's voice as he begs for Sherlock to relieve him from the torture of watching "Les Miserables" with their parents.

"Sherlock, please, I beg of you. You can take over at the interval." he pleads, the sound of the musical echoing in the background.

"I am sorry brother dear but you made a promise. Nothing I can do to help." Sherlock replies with a grin as he examines himself in the mirror.

"But you don't understand the pain of it, the horror." Mycroft protests. Sherlock unceremoniously hangs up the phone, cutting off whatever promises his brother might have made. He turns to John and can't help thinking how good it feels to have him in the flat.

"Come on. You have to go down; they want the story." John says, referencing the reporters that are gathered in the street. John Watson is, unlike Sherlock, no stranger to his emotions. He recognizes that he is happy and a little bit proud. He can't wait for the final installment of Sherlock's redemption to be complete. Many of the reporters downstairs were the same ones that hounded him about Sherlock's "suicide" and harassed him with claims of Sherlock being a fake. For John it is poetic justice that these same reporters will be filing stories about Sherlock's heroic rescue of Westminster.

However, Sherlock is not as eager to greet the cameras.

"In a minute" he replies before walking past his friend.

John doesn't know why Sherlock wants to wait and Sherlock doesn't say. That's one of the best things about their friendship they don't bother with long, emotional explanations and Sherlock's reason for waiting is an emotional one. He feels it would be wrong to go down and indulge himself in his triumph before Molly Hooper arrives. If Sherlock were to explain this reason to John he would probably talk in terms of "respect" and "obligation". Molly was after all a key figure in his survival; it is only natural that he would want her there to share in the success. All of this would be true, however it would be more accurate if Sherlock spoke in terms of "affection" and "love". Of course the two men never talked about such things and so nothing was said about Molly Hooper.

But Sherlock thought about Molly Hooper as he poured her a glass of champagne and set it down on the coffee table in expectation of her imminent arrival. He attempted to think of her with a professional distance but failed. He couldn't help imagining her smile and the way the light from the windows would reflect off her hair. Luckily Mary distracted him with her gentle chiding. He smiles in response to her reference of their first meeting. But then can't help wandering to the window in hopes of catching sight of Molly's arrival.

"You will be there Sherlock." Mary proclaims. She knows Sherlock has a habit of missing parties and other special events and she has made it her personal mission to make sure he attends their wedding. Mary is hoping that by giving the obstinate man 6 months to get used to the idea things will go smoother. She likes Sherlock but there is no way she is letting him spoil her wedding.

"Weddings not really my thing." Sherlock responds. Talk of weddings reminds him once again of Molly and he briefly wonders when she will marry and what consequences that will have for him. Just then he hears the door creak open and suddenly his attention is riveted by the window. He wants to look at Molly and greet her but instead he pretends to ignore her entrance. This is Sherlock's unconscious pattern when he encounters Molly. He is always aware that she is there but refuses to look at her for the first few moments. He observes her without seeming to notice her. This is his defensive mechanism; a way of concealing the effect Molly has on his mood.

Of course Molly Hooper hasn't the slightest idea that Sherlock's rudeness is actually rooted in his attraction to her. She has always assumed that she is so insignificant to Sherlock's life that he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to her unless forced. However when she arrives at 221B it is Molly who isn't paying attention to Sherlock. She is more concerned with introducing Tom and making him feel comfortable.

As Sherlock looks out the window he listens to the rumble of voices but doesn't pay attention to what any of them are saying. He feels an uncomfortable bubble of nerves in his stomach. The same nerves he had felt days earlier when she arrived in that same room. Then he was nervous about the invitation he was about to extend to Molly. Now he is nervous about interacting with her under the all too watchful eyes of Mary, John, and Mrs. Hudson. He runs scenarios and conversations through his head. Then settles on, what he feels, would be an appropriate level of familiarity.

"Ready?" Sherlock asks; speaking to John but really asking himself.

He turns and crosses the room. His eyes fix on Molly. He notices the attractive way her hair is styled, how the pink of her blouse accents the color of her skin. He smiles widely and genuinely at her. She smiles back but her eyes dart sideways. For the first time Sherlock notices the stranger standing next to Molly. All thoughts of gallantly presenting her with champagne evaporate along with his smile. He stops short, coming face to face with the man he assumes must be Molly's fiancé. He realizes belatedly that the conversation he hadn't bothered to listen to must have included the man's name and maybe his occupation. Sherlock doesn't know what to say. He feels a bit of outrage that Molly would bring an interloper to his celebration. He also feels the importance of being nice to the man, for Molly's sake. Quickly his eyes take in as much data as possible but his mind is so unsettled he doesn't register any deductions. He does notice the striking similarities in height and dress but doesn't comment. Instead Sherlock offers his hand, awkwardly.

With a quick glance at Molly, Sherlock flees the room. Not bothering to hand her champagne or pause for the toast he had planned. Suddenly everything feels disjointed and he wonders why he bothered to have people over in the first place. They only made things confusing and uncomfortable.

John watches all of this with barely suppressed glee. He may not be a famous consulting detective but even he has recognized the similarities between Sherlock and Tom. He waits, expectantly, positive that Sherlock will comment in his usual acerbic manner. He can't help but feel shock, followed quickly by admiration, when Sherlock holds his tongue. He thinks briefly of how far Sherlock has come in social grace since the first time they met. But then he realizes that Sherlock never spoke to Tom and wonders if the detective really properly looked at the man. He hurries out of the room to gauge his friends reaction.

Sherlock is standing just outside the door firmly pushing the idea of Tom from his mind. If he stopped to consult his emotions he might realize that he was feeling jealousy. Once he realized he was jealous he might then wonder about the depth of his feelings for Molly Hooper. Maybe with a bit more thought he would come to the obvious conclusion that he was in love with the short pathologist.

Instead he only recognizes a vague irritation that increases when he ties his scarf and is reminded that Tom ties his the same way.

John joins him at the top of the stairs and the consulting detective pushes his thoughts and feelings aside. Promising himself to move on and place Molly Hooper firmly out of his mind.

It was not the first time Sherlock Holmes made this promise and it wouldn't be the last.

* * *

**Someone on Tumblr noticed that Sherlock poured Molly a glass and not one for Tom and suggested that Molly brought Tom uninvited and Sherlock wasn't happy about it. So credit to the Tumblr person whose name I don't remember.**

** I know this is written in a different style. I am playing with different types of narration/voices. This fic was actually more experiment than anything else. Would appreciate your thoughts on this style vs my other stuff. **

**Review if convenient. **

**IF inconvenient, review anyway =)**


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